2021 Zone B: Florida Women Qualify Two Divers, Down Jenkins Repeats On Day 1

Though we’re not DiveDove, we do dabble in diving coverage, and as diving can have a major impact on the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, we cover NCAA Zone Diving – mainly through the lens of how national diving qualifiers could impact the team points battles later this month.

2021 NCAA Zone Diving

• Zone A: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC
  • Thursday, March 11 – Saturday, March 13
  • Live Results
• Zone B: Greensboro Aquatic Center / Greensboro, NC
  • Sunday, March 7 – Tuesday, March 9
  • Live Results
• Zone C: University of Kentucky / Lexington, KY
  • Sunday, March 7 – Tuesday, March 9
  • Live Results
• Zone D: University of Kentucky / Lexington, KY
  • Thursday, March 11 – Saturday, March 13
  • Live Results
• Zone E: Northern Arizona University / Flagstaff, AZ
  • Monday, March 8 – Wednesday, March 10
  • Live Results

New team, same result: former South Carolina Gamecock Anton Down Jenkins repeated as Zone B 3-meter champ, now with UNC.

Down Jenkins won both 1-meter and 3-meter in this zone last year. He earns another NCAA bid by virtue of his win on Sunday, and will get to defend his 1-meter title Monday. Down Jenkins won by 32 points.

Eight men earned NCAA invites on 3-meter, with Tennessee hogging three of the eight spots. Bryden Hattie was third overall to lead the way. The freshman is proving to be a major addition after scoring in three events at SECs, including the conference title on platform. Tennessee also qualified Matthew Wade, who was an A finalist on 3-meter at 2019 NCAAs.

Miami’s diving group is consistently one of the best in the nation, and they’ve already qualified two men and two women for NCAAs. The Miami men regularly contend for a top 20 finish, without carrying any men’s swimmers. The diving-only program saw Brodie Scapens take second on 3-meter and Max Flory also qualified for NCAAs. Miami’s best event is typically platform, where they went 1-2-3-4 in this zone last year.

Mia Vallee was the zone champion on 3-meter last year, and she won 1-meter on day 1 to earn another NCAA invite. The sophomore should get her first actual taste of NCAA Championships competition after her freshman season was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic. Miami went 1-2 on the women’s side, with Emma Gullstrand taking second.

Florida made strides from a team points perspective, adding two NCAA-qualifying divers. Ashley McCool was fourth overall and Elizabeth Perez fifth. The Gators have an NCAA-leading 16 swimmers invited to NCAAs, and with two divers (each counting for half a roster spot), the Gators are now one athlete below the NCAA roster cap of 18.

Current Qualifiers

Reimbursed divers are in bold, with invited-but-not-reimbursed divers in non-bold. You can read more about the distinction below.

SIMPLIFIED INVITE PROCEDURES

You can read a more in-depth look at the selection process here. Effectively, each Zone earns a specific number of qualifying spots in each event, based on how that Zone performed at NCAAs last year. Divers who place inside the qualifying places earn an NCAA invite. A diver invited in one event can compete at NCAAs in any other diving event where they were top 12 in their Zone meet. The highest-placing divers earn NCAA reimbursement, while lower-placing qualifiers can compete at NCAAs, but their school must pay for their travel and lodging at the meet.